How Did He Get Hired to Start With?
Fired Klansman sues to get back prison jobEx-correctional officer cites civil rights
BY CHARLIE FRAGO ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
A lawsuit filed in Pulaski County by an ex-correctional officer seeks to give him his old job back, nine months after he was fired for being a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Prison officials fired Willis Frazier from his position as a correctional officer in August 2004, two months after he was hired at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Lee County.
"He can’t wear that uniform and an Arkansas Department of Correction uniform, too," said Dina Tyler, spokesman for the Department of Correction. "It makes perfect sense. Any membership in a group like this makes it impossible to work in any Arkansas [prison] facility."
In a termination letter, Warden Greg Harmon said Frazier’s termination came because he was a member of the International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
In his civil suit filed May 17 in circuit court, Frazier said his firing deprived him of his rights to free speech, free association and religious liberty under the United States and Arkansas constitutions.
The St. Francis County resident is asking for compensatory damages and his old job back with no loss of seniority. Prison officials say Frazier’s termination was a no-brainer. Frazier would have become a target for black inmates if they had learned of his Klan affiliation, Tyler said, and he also would be more likely to collaborate with prison white supremacist groups such as the Aryan Brotherhood.
Last week, prison officials said the Aryan Brotherhood is the strongest prison gang at the East Arkansas Regional Unit and is in the midst of a recruiting drive.
Harmon acted properly in dismissing Frazier, Tyler said, because his KKK membership constituted a security threat under existing administrative regulations, which state that no prison employee can be a member of white supremacy groups, prison gangs or street gangs.
Over the past decade, at least three other correctional officers have been fired for being members of gangs, mostly the Crips, a Los Angeles-based street gang, Tyler said.
On the department’s hiring questionnaire, prospective officers are asked if they are members of any organization that advocates overthrow of the government or if they are gang members.
According to prison officials, Frazier marked no to both questions. A Correction Department internal affairs investigation started after the department received word that Frazier had appeared in a Pulaski County newspaper in October 2003 in Klan regalia, identifying himself as Arkansas Grand Dragon of Keystone Knights.
Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh said the city allowed Frazier and about a dozen Klan members to demonstrate on a public sidewalk.
Nationwide, prison officials said it was rare for officers to have ties to the Klan. Joe Weedon, spokesman for the American Correctional Association, said he was not aware of any other states firing guards for Klan membership. Usually, background checks are thorough enough to discover membership in groups such as the KKK.
"Typically, a lot of individuals are screened out," he said.
In California, a guard was fired in a sting operation in a prison last year for being a gang member, but no Klan members have been discovered working for the Department of Corrections, spokesman Terry Thornton said.
Over the past several years, a couple of gang members have been dismissed, she said.
"Wow. You still have people doing that [belonging to the Klan]. It’s 2005, get over it," she said.
In Texas, spokesman Mike Viesca said the Department of Criminal Justice asks specifically whether the applicant is associated with any gangs or hate groups.
"If, later on, we find that the applicant has lied, then he or she can be terminated for falsifying the application," said Viesca in an e-mail. "We don’t have numbers as to how many correctional staff members have been terminated as a result of association with a gang or hate group; usually, the person has violated a separate disciplinary policy not directly tied to those affiliations."
Frazier’s lawyer, Robert Kelly of Fort Smith, said he would not comment until he received word that Harmon had been officially served with the suit.
Frazier could not be reached for comment. In 1999, Frazier filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Marion after the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting people from soliciting donations and handing out pamphlets along city streets.
American Civil Liberties Union officials in Arkansas and New York were not available for comment Monday. In 1999, the ACLU supported Frazier’s federal suit, arguing that although they did not agree with his beliefs, he had a right to voice them.
Prison officials say the safety of their inmates and officers outweighs freedom-of-speech issues.
"We can’t help the fact that inmates come to us with previous associations, but we can help it with our employees," Tyler said.
This story was published Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Copyright © 2005, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved.
BY CHARLIE FRAGO ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
A lawsuit filed in Pulaski County by an ex-correctional officer seeks to give him his old job back, nine months after he was fired for being a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Prison officials fired Willis Frazier from his position as a correctional officer in August 2004, two months after he was hired at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Lee County.
"He can’t wear that uniform and an Arkansas Department of Correction uniform, too," said Dina Tyler, spokesman for the Department of Correction. "It makes perfect sense. Any membership in a group like this makes it impossible to work in any Arkansas [prison] facility."
In a termination letter, Warden Greg Harmon said Frazier’s termination came because he was a member of the International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
In his civil suit filed May 17 in circuit court, Frazier said his firing deprived him of his rights to free speech, free association and religious liberty under the United States and Arkansas constitutions.
The St. Francis County resident is asking for compensatory damages and his old job back with no loss of seniority. Prison officials say Frazier’s termination was a no-brainer. Frazier would have become a target for black inmates if they had learned of his Klan affiliation, Tyler said, and he also would be more likely to collaborate with prison white supremacist groups such as the Aryan Brotherhood.
Last week, prison officials said the Aryan Brotherhood is the strongest prison gang at the East Arkansas Regional Unit and is in the midst of a recruiting drive.
Harmon acted properly in dismissing Frazier, Tyler said, because his KKK membership constituted a security threat under existing administrative regulations, which state that no prison employee can be a member of white supremacy groups, prison gangs or street gangs.
Over the past decade, at least three other correctional officers have been fired for being members of gangs, mostly the Crips, a Los Angeles-based street gang, Tyler said.
On the department’s hiring questionnaire, prospective officers are asked if they are members of any organization that advocates overthrow of the government or if they are gang members.
According to prison officials, Frazier marked no to both questions. A Correction Department internal affairs investigation started after the department received word that Frazier had appeared in a Pulaski County newspaper in October 2003 in Klan regalia, identifying himself as Arkansas Grand Dragon of Keystone Knights.
Cabot Mayor Stubby Stumbaugh said the city allowed Frazier and about a dozen Klan members to demonstrate on a public sidewalk.
Nationwide, prison officials said it was rare for officers to have ties to the Klan. Joe Weedon, spokesman for the American Correctional Association, said he was not aware of any other states firing guards for Klan membership. Usually, background checks are thorough enough to discover membership in groups such as the KKK.
"Typically, a lot of individuals are screened out," he said.
In California, a guard was fired in a sting operation in a prison last year for being a gang member, but no Klan members have been discovered working for the Department of Corrections, spokesman Terry Thornton said.
Over the past several years, a couple of gang members have been dismissed, she said.
"Wow. You still have people doing that [belonging to the Klan]. It’s 2005, get over it," she said.
In Texas, spokesman Mike Viesca said the Department of Criminal Justice asks specifically whether the applicant is associated with any gangs or hate groups.
"If, later on, we find that the applicant has lied, then he or she can be terminated for falsifying the application," said Viesca in an e-mail. "We don’t have numbers as to how many correctional staff members have been terminated as a result of association with a gang or hate group; usually, the person has violated a separate disciplinary policy not directly tied to those affiliations."
Frazier’s lawyer, Robert Kelly of Fort Smith, said he would not comment until he received word that Harmon had been officially served with the suit.
Frazier could not be reached for comment. In 1999, Frazier filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Marion after the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting people from soliciting donations and handing out pamphlets along city streets.
American Civil Liberties Union officials in Arkansas and New York were not available for comment Monday. In 1999, the ACLU supported Frazier’s federal suit, arguing that although they did not agree with his beliefs, he had a right to voice them.
Prison officials say the safety of their inmates and officers outweighs freedom-of-speech issues.
"We can’t help the fact that inmates come to us with previous associations, but we can help it with our employees," Tyler said.
This story was published Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Copyright © 2005, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved.
posted by Steve Nawojczyk at
5:27 AM
1 Comments:
Steve,
Could you please contact Lady Gray owner of a couple of yahoogroups and the National site of www.judgedmenalliance.com . Due to the recent riots fueled by policies of the ADC, I have launched a nationwide writing campaign. I also work with gangs and youth...I have a blog called Walkin the Vision on blogspot.
Sincerely,
Lady Gray
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